Chapter One

“Ah, I’ve captured you,” Chase McMillian declared as he pulled Lacy Dalton into his arms. “You’re not going to get away from me now!” The husky blonde man’s broad arms went around the struggling Lacy, holding her fast to him. Her auburn hair once piled atop her head was falling loose about her flushed pink cheeks, as her green eyes flashed fiercely. There was little determination in her protest however, her captive state the beginning of a delightful trip into an evening of passion. “You fight me any more, and I’ll paddle your behind!” Chase said, his determination clear. That wasn’t an idle threat and Lacy Dalton certainly didn’t want it to be. These tussles with Chase were one of the best parts of their relationship. Somewhere in the mix of things, she needed freedom from her pressure filled life, and she found that in Chase McMillian, and often over his lap.

“You just try and keep me here,” she cried as she tried again to wrestle away from his grasp. She wrenched hard and finally broke free, darting quickly toward the other side of the stables. Chase was after her, the pace brisk as she disappeared through the old wooden door into the night and the protection of the dark. Chase was at her heels, and while her hair flew behind her, now completely undone, and her cheeks caught the brisk evening breeze, she managed to stay just out of his reach. They ran between the paddocks out toward the meadow where they could hear the sound of the horses snorting and whinnying from the prickly excitement in the air. A storm had been gathering in the western sky about sunset. Now it loomed closer, ready to break free and grant the sun-parched earth some reprieve from a summer of endless dry days. The grasses were brown and brittle. Dust covered everything. The thought of a storm and its refreshing liquid splashing down to wash away the lazy doldrums of the season had made everyone and everything expectant and restless.

Lacy raced far into the field toward the old oak, and then, knowing that Chase was still following close, backtracked toward the house and barns, running at full speed. The more she raced the more her blood began to surge. The wind whipping around her, the storm was on them. Before she could find shelter from the elements, the sky broke loose sending a torrent of heavenly water to splash against her face and drench her from head to toe. The feel of the cool water made her slow her escape from Chase’s pursuit; and her fiancé, not too happy with her impromptu flight, finally captured her again.

“You really do want a battle,” he asserted.

Though she struggled against his hold on her, her resistance was meager as